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November 6, 1863: Battle of Droop Mountain

The Battle of Droop Mountain opened with nearly six hours of artillery fire, musketry, and hand-to-hand combat. Averell’s infantry finally broke through the Confederate left. The Rebels retreated, and the battle turned into a Union rout.

At first glance, the battle might not have seemed that significant because Echols’s forces managed to escape. — The Battle of Droop Mountain opened with nearly six hours of artillery fire, musketry, and hand-to-hand combat. Averell’s infantry finally broke through the Confederate left. The Rebels retreated, and the battle turned into a Union rout.

On November 6, 1863, one of the most important Civil War battles in West Virginia occurred in Pocahontas County. In August of that year, Union General William W. Averell had launched a series of raids to disrupt the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad in southwestern Virginia.

During his second raid, Averell hatched a scheme to trap Confederate troops around Lewisburg. His overall plan failed. But, he was able to attack some 1,700 Confederates under General John Echols at Droop Mountain, just south of Hillsboro. The battle opened with nearly six hours of artillery fire, musketry, and hand-to-hand combat. Averell’s infantry finally broke through the Confederate left. The Rebels retreated, and the battle turned into a Union rout.

At first glance, the battle might not have seemed that significant because Echols’s forces managed to escape. Plus, Averell failed to achieve his ultimate objective. However, Droop Mountain marked the last large-scale battle of the war fought on West Virginia soil. It was also the last time the Confederacy made a push to control the new state. The site of the battle is now preserved as a state park.

August 29, 1854: The Greenbrier Agricultural Society Hosts First Annual Fair in Current Lewisburg

On August 29, 1854, the Greenbrier Agricultural Society hosted its first annual fair on two acres of land in what is now downtown Lewisburg. The fair distributed awards for everything from livestock, farm implements, and crops to homemade food, quilts, oil paintings, and penmanship. The Lewisburg event was one of many local 19^th-century fairs. One on Wheeling Island was referred to as the “state fair,” but it was still more of a local celebration. The Wheeling Island fair was eventually discontinued due to periodic flooding on the island.

The fair we now know as the West Virginia State Fair started in Greenbrier County in 1921. Admission for adults was 75 cents at that first event, which was held at the site of today’s fairgrounds in Fairlea. Later, stables, barns, a grandstand, a stage, and an exhibit building were added.

The legislature proclaimed the event the State Fair of West Virginia in 1941, although the fair actually is owned by local stockholders, not the state. Today’s fair, held each August, continues the decades-long traditions of agricultural exhibits, harness racing, carnival rides, games, concerts, fireworks, and food.

April 11, 1964: Writer Pinckney Benedict Born in Lewisburg

Writer Pinckney Benedict was born in Lewisburg on April 11, 1964, and grew up on his family’s dairy farm. After graduating from Princeton University and the University of Iowa, he published his first two collections of short stories, Town Smokes and The Wrecking Yard, and the novel Dogs of God. The New York Times Book Review named all three to its Notable Books list. In 2010, after taking 14 years off from publishing, he released a new collection of short stories entitled Miracle Boy.

Benedict has received numerous honors, including Britain’s Steinbeck Award, the Chicago Tribune’s Nelson Algren Award, and the Henfield Foundation’s Transatlantic Review Awards.

His plays have received staged readings and performances at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg. And several of his short stories have been adapted for short films and television. He wrote a feature-length screenplay for the novel Four Days by John Buell. The film premiered at the 1999 Toronto International Film Festival. He also adapted a screenplay of his own work, Dogs of God.

Pinckney Benedict is currently an English professor at Southern Illinois University.

Gov. Justice Argues Meaning of 'Reside' is Unclear in Residency Case

Lawyers for the governor of West Virginia have told the state Supreme Court the meaning of the word “reside” is unclear in a case regarding his residency outside of Charleston.

The Beckley Register-Herald reports Gov. Jim Justice’s lawyers argued before the court Tuesday in response to a petition filed by Democratic Del. Isaac Sponaugle. Sponaugle asked the court to order Justice to live in Charleston per the state’s Constitution, which requires the governor to “reside at the seat of government.”

Justice lives in Lewisburg. The case was dismissed on a technicality. Justice’s lawyers say the Constitution doesn’t define the word “reside.” They say that if the Legislature or voters are upset with Justice’s residency, they can “impeach him or vote him out of office.”

West Virginia Craft Beers Going on Tap at Fairgrounds

Tickets have gone on sale for the Second Annual WV Craft Brew Festival in April intended to showcase West Virginia’s growing craft beer sector at the state fairgrounds outside Lewisburg.

State Fair CEO Kelly Collins says 65 state craft brews were featured at last year’s festival along with music and food.

Collins says the April 28 festival is a fundraiser for the Lewisburg Rotary and State Fair of WV Scholarship Funds.

General admission tickets cost $28.30 for eight beer samplings, the music and a mug.

Lewisburg Natives Receive 'Living the Dream' Award for Honoring Medal of Freedom Winner

The Martin Luther King, Jr. State Holiday Commission honored Lewisburg natives Pamela Barry and Neely Seams with the “Living the Dream” award this year.

The two wrote and performed a powerful monologue that honored another notable West Virginia native, Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson. Johnson is an African-American whose work in mathematics was critical to NASA’s moon landing.

The award was in the area of “Sharing of Self – Selfless Leadership in the Public and Private Sector.”

Pamela Barry and Neely Seams wrote and performed the monologue on Johnson’s life for the 2017 Greenbrier Historical Society Homes Tour Weekend.

The Commission said in a news release the script and performance “provide inspiration to minorities, women, and those considering careers in science and math.”

The Commission noted the monologue will be presented to all high school students in Greenbrier, Monroe, and Pocahontas Counties in March.

Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. She is a native of White Sulphur Springs.